My 12-Year-Old Daughter Shares Her Secrets for Saving Money

That money’s going to come in handy too because lately I’ve been trying to save up for a new laptop computer. The one that I have my eyes on is made by Compaq, which is the same laptop that my brother, Matthew, has. My mom and dad only use Macs, but since Macs are very expensive, I decided to get a PC.

In order to get my laptop, I need to gain around $240.

Back in April, I saved up enough money to buy a new iPod 4G, which was around $300. So I know for a fact that I can save enough money to get a laptop in no time.

Now, I have many ways that I can earn money in my house. For each chore that I do, I get about 25 cents.

I know what you’re thinking: But Nina: 25 cents? Isn’t that such a small amount? Actually, no! If I do every chore right every single day, it adds up to about $2 a day, which would give me $60 each month. Not bad.

I keep track of everything I earn in a special book called a ledger. It also has a list of all of my chores in it and the amount I get paid for each one. If you think about it, a ledger is very similar to a savings account.

My dad also gives my brother and me a chance to earn extra money once a week with something he calls The Monday Ten Dollar Question of the Night. (We have a theme song too, which is really just the “Dancing With the Stars” tune.) Every Monday night during dinner, my dad tells me and Matthew to get a piece of paper and a pen. He then asks us a very difficult question that we might never guess.

Our most recent question was this one: When you go to a carnival and you hear people shouting out, “GET YER RED HOTS!”, what are they really selling? I got it right. (It’s hot dogs!) So I got to add $10 in my ledger this week.

Matthew guessed “hot tamales,” so he lost out.

To earn extra money I used to have a lemonade stand, but now I wash cars. My best friend, Ashley, and I have a car washing business that we began in late May. We call it the “Rubber Duckiez Car Washing Service” and our motto is: “We leave your car SQUEAKY clean!” We wash on Saturdays from 10 AM to 2 PM, and we charge $10 for cars and $15 for trucks and vans! That money rakes in very fast.

I am hoping to raise enough money for my laptop by the end of the year. The effort that I will have to put in will be incredible, but I can do it!

I have enjoyed writing for you all once again! I hope to come back soon!

Comments

WOW, I wish my kids (11 & 13) were as motivated as you! Now, I do have one question…what are the 8 chores you do each day to earn $2? Your parents must not have to do anything around the house (cleaning toilets, washing dishes, etc) if you are doing so many things! Just so you know, cleaning ladies get about $25 an hour; so you may want to increase your rate 🙂

That’s great, I really like that your dad asked you to write. I read his column every day. My daughter is 9, and had a dog-walking business over the summer and raised $45. $1 a dog, that worked out really well. And like you Nina, she does chores around the house for money because we don’t do allowances. All the best to you!

Nina! I was so impressed with your article and you gave me several great ideas that I am going to use with the kids in my life, to thank you. I really admire you because you are willing to work and save for something that you really want – may I tell you that you will discover that the enjoyment and satisfaction you receive from it will be 10 times what you would if it was just handed to you! Here’s to you, dearie! I look forward to your posting again!

@Littlehouse: I’ll get a lot of money if I take over my dad’s blog… so I’ll go with that one! 😛

@BC: Thank you so much! That’s a great idea! My neighbors and I thought about dog walking, but we never got around to actually passing out the fliers that we made.

@tracee: Thank you Tracee!

@Daniel: Thank you so much! My dad and I were thinking about letting me guest-post once a month! Let’s see how that works out! 🙂

@Mary Collins: Awww thank you so much! 🙂

@Grandpa: Thanks Grandpa! You get a discount because you’re family!

@krantcents: My parents have taught me well! Thank you!

@Jens Dalsgaard: I am planning to write again really soon! Who knows, I might make a blog myself later in life! 🙂

@Dr Dean: Hi Dr.Dean! I already know how to use excel, actually! My dad taught me on my Mac. Yes, I have learned to type! I’m not sure when I did though… I can even type without looking at the keyboard FYI! Thank you so much!

We’ve been doing the Monday Question of the Night for about four years now. The kids love it, and they get to learn a few things in the process — not to mention make a few bucks off it every once in awhile. (For those who are curious, I’d say the kids’ success rate is currently about 1 out of every 5 questions, although when they were younger it was probably only 1 out of 10.)

But the title was wrong – this isn’t how you save money, it’s how you make money. I’d actually be really curious to know how you manage to resist the impulse to spend for the time it takes you to reach your savings goal. Do you feel like you’re missing out on other things to get your iPod and PC?

I just wanted to say kudos to you for having goals and not being afraid to work to earn things that many people(not just kids) take for granted and assume they should have it automatically. You should be proud of yourself. I’m sure you’re parents are. I have four children and they all help around the house also and earn money. Yes, they love earning the money, however, it is also an invaluable gift teaching them to be responsible and set goals. It’s wonderful to hear about good things such as this.

@Jordana: Thank you! I have spent as little money as I can over the past month. If I do spend my money, I feel kind of guilty because I have taken from my goal. About other things that I might be missing out on for my Ipod and PC; I honestly don’t think that my Ipod needs anything else expect for Itunes gift cards, which I usually get for Christmas. I am trying to spend as little as possible so that I can finally get my PC.

Hi Nina you have inspired me so much ( I’m 12 too) I have been doing the car wash business for about three days now I have made about 20$!!!! My business name is splish splash your car needs a bath! And my motto is: you will be driving with your wheels squeaking…. I do it with my neighbor her name is Allison!! My name is Katie 🙂 you rock nina!!

I like the idea of the Monday night question. Brilliant. Where do you come up with your questions though? I would always wonder if a question is too difficult or too easy for my [insert age here] year old child.

Nina,
Congratulations on all your successful endeavors! My son tried to earn some money for a new bike last summer by offering to cut the neighbors grass.Unfortunately, he didn’t get any takers. Have you had something not go well and how did you keep your motivation?

wow nina that is some great advise. me and my friend are working on a car washing service of our own and i know how hard it is. and this is only sorting out if we can get permission from the council. i hope you do well. i know you’ll get that PC in no time. oh and 1 more thing. you should ask your parents if you can get paid maybe 50c per job. that would mean $4 a day and $120 a month. you’ll be rich in no time.

i remember getting an allowance per week.. We had chores to do. No chores, no allowance. I supplimented that income with baby sitting and working during the summer peeling apples and cleaning houses. Good for you, Nina to learn the value of a $

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[…] daughter, Nina, has also written more than a few articles for me over the years, including this piece on saving money that she wrote when she was just 12 years old. The article was promptly picked up by MSN — […]

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